Blessings In Disguise
by Ari Gozen
Summary: The U-17 Candidate Selection Camp is off to an interesting start. There are both high-school and middle-school students. But who are the two twins that Tezuka and Sanada encounter?


"Are you sure about this, Hibiki?"

Kyousuke Hikaru looked over at her twin sister, fitting her black hair into the cap she held. The two girls stood just outside the entrance of the candidate selection camp, hardly able to believe what they were about to do.

The other girl turned to Hikaru and sighed, "It's too late to turn back now. We're already here. Besides, if we quit now, what would happen to 'honor'?" Hibiki gave her sister a soft, encouraging smile, though she too was nervous.

Hikaru returned the smile, admiring Hibiki's courage. Everything she said made sense. The sole reason they were standing there was to defend their honor, and to prove themselves.

For that, they were going against all odds.

---

The large crowd of teenage boys suddenly scrambled, each player anxious to catch one of the tennis balls falling down towards them. All of the middle-schoolers obtained one easily, leaving the high-school students both surprised and annoyed.

Tezuka Kunimitsu had just managed to wrap his fingers around a tennis ball when a shorter boy wearing a grey cap bumped into him.

"Ah, gomen," muttered the boy, not meeting Tezuka's eyes. He hurried away, as if embarrassed. Tezuka watched the boy leave, but blinked when he thought he was seeing double.

No, there was nothing wrong with his glasses. He realized that there were two boys… who looked exactly alike. It was obvious that they were twins. But something seemed strange about them. Why had the first one seemed so nervous? Maybe he was one of those people that were afraid of Seigaku regulars for some strange reason.

---

Two days had already passed, and the thought of the boy faded from Tezuka's mind. On the first day, Tezuka had witnessed many different playing styles by watching the personal matches. Afterwards, they had been showed the facilities. On the second, Momoshiro had played his shuffle match and, unfortunately, lost.

Now it was the third day, and it was time for Tezuka's shuffle match. He saw his name posted up, next to 'Kyousuke Hikaru'. They would be playing on court 9. There was no question why the coordinators had placed Tezuka at a court in the top ten. They were, after all, watching all the players. But he wondered how skilled his opponent would be.

Once at the court, he realized who his opponent was: the boy in the grey cap. However, standing on the court, the boy did not seem as nervous as before. Then again, perhaps this was his twin and not the person Tezuka had bumped into on the first day. Still, no matter who this was, he was still an opponent and Tezuka aimed to win.

The referee announced the names, "Tezuka Kunimitsu versus Kyousuke Hikaru."

And so the match began…

---

Hikaru had the first serve. As he tossed up the ball, Tezuka was expecting a normal, fast serve or a smash. That's what it looked like as the tennis ball flew to the other side of the net. However, just as the Seigaku regular was about to return it, the ball seemed to disappear. To Tezuka's surprise, it reappeared at the baseline to his left. The side opposite where he had just been about to hit it.

This serve reminded him of Niou Masaharu's illusions. The same technique was probably used by both Niou and Kyousuke. Both 'illusions' seemed real. Now, Tezuka would not underestimate Kyousuke again. _'Yudan sezu ni ikou'_.

Despite, or maybe because, the fact that this serve had aced Tezuka Kunimitsu, a national player, Hikaru only used it once more in the entire match. His serves were normal, but very quick, and his style wasn't too outrageous. However, it was the boy's movements that caught Tezuka's attention. It was hard for him to read Hikaru's movements and predict he would do next. Returning the shot was simple enough; figuring out where on the court the shot would go was not.

He put a stop to Hikaru's unpredictability by using Tezuka Zone. The technique astonished onlookers who had never seen it before, even the high-school players. It certainly did surprise Hikaru. Now, all of his shots flew right towards Tezuka.

The outcome of the game was quite obvious. Tezuka won the match, but Hikaru had managed to win a single game. Since that the opponent was Tezuka, this could be considered an accomplishment.

Once the winner was announced, Hikaru shook Tezuka's hand with a barely noticeable smile and left the court without saying a word.

_Maybe this is the boy from before_, Tezuka thought. The other time, the boy had left just as quickly. Realizing that because of this he knew nothing about Hikaru except his playing style, Tezuka decided to follow him and learn at least what school he came from.

---

The day was coming to an end when Tezuka spotted someone with a grey cap standing against the wall of the dormitory building. No one else was there; this was the back of the building. Why was Hikaru in such a secluded place?

He saw Hikaru raise a hand to remove the cap on his head, but Tezuka then called out his name.

"Kyousuke-san!"

Hikaru, startled, lowered his hand and looked in the direction of the voice. An expression of shock spread over his face and the boy began running away as Tezuka approached closer.

_Why is he running?_ Tezuka was prompted to chase after Hikaru. However, as he turned the corner of the building, he tripped over something fell face-first… right on top of Hikaru.

But wait… was this Hikaru? There was no doubt that this was the person he had played against, but he seemed different. Falling on him, Tezuka had also accidentally knocked off Hikaru's hat, causing long black hair to spill across his… no, _her_ shoulders.

"K-Kyousuke-san?"

The _girl_ underneath him was turning a light shade of red. After all, their faces were only a few inches from each other.

"Ano… Tezuka-san, please get off of me," she said, averting her eyes so that they didn't meet Tezuka's hazel ones.

"I'm sorry," Tezuka apologized, hurrying to stand back up. He held out a hand to Hikaru to help her. Hikaru hesitated for a moment, but then placed her hand in his.

Straightening up, Hikaru let out a sigh of exasperation. "It's the third day and I've already been found out. Ah, Hibiki is going to kill me," she mumbled to herself. She turned suddenly to Tezuka, as if only just noticing that he was standing there. "And _you_, can't tell anyone about this," she said sternly, staring at Tezuka while dusting off her hat.

"Well, first I have to know why this is all happening," Tezuka replied, a skeptical expression on his face. "I think you owe me an explanation, if you want me to keep quiet."

She gave out another annoyed sigh. "Fine. If it'll keep you quiet, fine. But it'll be hell when Hibiki finds out… Anyway, this is what's happening. My sister, Hibiki, and I disguised ourselves and attend this camp to prove ourselves to… a certain someone. And if we're found out, we'll have to leave and it'll damage our 'honor'. That's really all you need to know." Hikaru looked at Tezuka, waiting for his reaction. Could she trust him, who was simply an opponent she had randomly been put up against?

"I understand."

"Wh-what?"

"I understand what you're doing. I won't tell anyone that you and Hibiki are girls," Tezuka said. "You can trust me."

Hikaru could hardly believe it. Tezuka, this stoic and seemingly emotionless person, was going to help them just like that? Suddenly realizing that he being truthful, she was grateful that it was he that found out and not someone else.

"A-arigatou, Tezuka-san…"

---

Sanada Genchirou also had a shuffle match that day. He was somewhat glad that he hadn't been paired with Tezuka. It would have been the nationals all over again. Instead, he would have to play… Kyousuke Hibiki. Somehow, Sanada felt like he had heard the name somewhere, but couldn't remember exactly where he had heard it.

He met Kyousuke Hibiki on the tennis courts, shaking hands with him. The boy wasn't a high-school student; he looked either Sanada's age or younger. The boy's face was half hidden by the grey cap he wore on his head, but it was obvious that Hibiki wasn't one of those powerful, intimidating players. In fact, he was smaller than Sanada had expected and very skinny. Was there any possibility that this person could defeat the 'Emperor' of Rikkai Dai?

Kyousuke Hibiki turned out to be an interesting opponent. Though he wasn't all-powerful and didn't have nonreturnable shots, he did have a strange way of returning shots. He would hit the ball at an odd angle, so that it gave it a strange spin and caused the ball to bounce in an unpredictable direction. Using this, Kyousuke was able to score a few points. But that was before Sanada began playing more to his ability, using Fire to eliminate the spin on the ball.

In the end, it was Sanada's victory. He shook hands with Hibiki, thanking him for the game. But what he was really thinking about was how Kyousuke Hibiki moved. His footwork... everything seemed so familiar. Suddenly, a memory dawned upon him. As he looked to the other side of the court, Hibiki was already starting to leave, and he was doing so abnormally in a hurry.

Sanada walked after him, calling out, "Wait, Kyousuke-san!"

He kept walking, though his head was bent at a slightly lower angle upon hearing Sanada's voice. Finally, the Rikkai Dai regular caught up to him, placing a hand on the other boy's shoulder. Hibiki turned around to face him.

"Hai? Is there something you need from me, Sanada-san?" he asked the Rikkai Dai regular, his voice taking on a slight impatient tone.

"I just need to ask you... Who are you?"

Hibiki raised an eyebrow. "I am Kyousuke Hibiki, middle school third-year. What else is there to ask?"

"A bit more. You seem familiar, Kyousuke-san. What city did you come from?"

"I'm not obliged to answer that question," Hibiki replied briskly, turning to walk away. However, Sanada grabbed his shoulder more forcefully this time, and with his other hand, pulled off the grey cap.

Long black hair tumbled down Hibiki's shoulders, and 'her' eyes widened in astonishment. Sanada, though also surprised, seemed satisfied with himself. "What have you- how did you... Damn it!" Hibiki cried in exasperation, obviously upset.

"That's what I thought. You're Kyousuke Hibiki, one of the people I learned kendo with. So, I'm assuming, you live in Kanagawa. Am I right?"

She had an impulse to shout 'Stalker!' at him, but realized that he was right. How could she have been so stupid not to have recognized him in the first place? Hibiki was a rather skilled kendoka, and she had learned at the same place Sanada had. They didn't go to the same school... but apparently, they lived near enough to go to the same kendo class.

"Now, I guess you've found out that I'm a girl. This isn't exactly the best thing I wanted to happen," she sighed. Hibiki closed her eyes for a moment, putting a finger to her temple. "I guess me and Hikaru are going to be sent home soon..."

"What are you talking about?"

Sanada's words were met with a piercing glare, an 'as-if-you-don't-really-know' kind of glare. "Aren't you going to go report me for being a girl? It was a stretch that this camp started accepting middle-school students, but girls are definitely not allowed."

"No."

"W-what?"

"I'm not going to report you. I have no reason to. You're a girl, but it's not my place to get you eliminated from the camp. I know you, but not well enough for that," said Sanada. He then turned around to walk back to the dormitory, but Hibiki's voice reached him.

"Sanada-san!"

"Hm?" He turned his face around to face her.

"Arigatou."

He said nothing to that, and merely started walking again. However, a small, unnoticeable smile crept up on his lips, invisible.

---

Hibiki walked into her dorm room to find her sister lying up on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Hikaru didn't even notice that her twin had come back, she was too preoocupied with her thoughts.

"Hi, Hikaru," Hibiki said upon entering. No response. "Um... Hikaru?"

The other girl snapped out of her trance, turning over in the bed to look at Hibiki. "Oh, Hibiki, you're back." She didn't sound too enthusiastic.

There was an awkward silence until both girls suddenly said, "I have some bad news." They stared at each other for another second before saying in unison, "You go first."

Hikaru sighed, "Really Hibiki, you can go before me."

"No, that's alright. Talk."

This continued for the next minute or so, with each girl arguing to let the other speak first. At last, Hikaru was finally persuaded.

"Hibiki, I know you're going to be angry at me, but..." she started. "Our secret was found out."

Her twin looked at her, eyes wide. "You... you too?"

"What do mean by that?"

"I... I was also found out. By Sanada Genchirou."

"Tezuka Kunimitsu."

Yet another silence followed this, neither girl wanting to say anything at this point. It was Hibiki who gave in.

"Is... Is Tezuka going to tell?" To her great relief, Hikaru shook her head. They were in the clear. Their secret would be kept safe... hopefully.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

Wow, I haven't uploaded in a long time. And when I do, it's a whole new story. Where does all my time go? I wonder...

Anyway, this fanfiction piece was requested by Young-kun, and I'm ashamed to say that I'm way past what the deadline. -sigh- Young-kun, I'm sorry, please forgive me! It's not even that good...

Also, as usual, please review! Even negative criticism is alright with me.

_Disclaimer: _I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters. Kyousuke Hibiki and Hikaru are mine.


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